Questions for Al Qaeda

Perhaps the US presidential campaign has snatched too much global attention. The second in command of Al Qaeda offered to collect questions from friends and foes on four Islamic web sites for one month, starting December 16. “As it builds its Web community, al-Qaida is apparently also looking for user-generated content,” writes Yassin Musharbash for Spiegel Online. The questions will undoubtedly offer more insights than the responses, Musharbash notes. The list in the Spiegel Online article suggests that young jihadists press Al Qaeda to speak out and take more action in specific regions, from Kashmir to Yemen, with religious motivation driving many concerns. Also, “It appears that within the cyber-jihadist community, there is a certain expectation that spectacular or at least symbolic terrorist attacks should take place,” Musharbash warns. Questions on Iran mirror concerns expressed by the Bush administration. Young people throughout the world rely on internet technology for information, planning and entertainment and could become disillusioned with Al Qaeda as a global organization if responses are patronizing, vague or full of empty promises. – YaleGlobal